Roger and I have spent many a Thanksgiving holiday just the two of us, and this Thanksgiving was one of those. We like each other's company so that works out well. Thursday dawned quite cold here with temps hovering around 40 F. There was plenty of frost on the roofs in the neighborhood and even the lawn grass glinted in the morning light. We knew exactly how we wanted to spend this beautiful, blue sky day. There was a
King Tide expected at noon, and we wanted to be there when the tide was as high as it was going to be.

We headed out to the marsh around 11:30 and found it to be humming with lots of fellow walkers, families with kids, and plenty of well-behaved happy dogs all on leashes. When we got out of the car, the first thing we noticed was some people standing on the small dock in the very high tide watching a strange flat craft moving out into the bay. We could not see anyone in the craft, except for two arms that came up out of the vessel in a rowing movement. We wondered what that person was up to, but it was a beautiful day, so we didn't stop to watch. We walked on just a bit and then heard the loud crack of a shotgun. BOOM. Then BOOM again. We couldn't believe it. That boat suddenly had two people in it and one of them had a gun and was shooting at some ducks in the bay. They had been hiding as they approached the birds. We were shocked. BOOM again. I took some photos of them and walked on quickly. We ran into three people who were as shocked as we were. One of them had called 911 to report gunshots at the marsh. It was quite disconcerting to have a gun being fired so closely to where a host of walkers, hikers, bird-watchers, and families with kids were enjoying their Thanksgiving.

That sound was so disconcerting I wasn't sure I could enjoy the walk, which we had only just begun. But we kept going and found that the sight of hundreds of birds taking off in flight helped to lift our spirits. We walked and walked and filled our eyes with all the beauty that spread before us.
In the meadow that is usually dry, we found the Kingfisher and Heron taking advantage of the very high tide. I was so glad they posed for me like this!
This view from the little bridge gives you some idea of how high the tide was. Here's a view at much lower tide, taken four days earlier.
So, this was our Thanksgiving walk. When I look at these photos, I am struck by how blue everything is. We are always grateful for these sunny days. The rains will be back in a few days, and we keep hearing about an El Nino winter headed our way. Until that happens, we'll walk in the sunlight and rejoice in the rain when it comes.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.